Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1224

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1224

‘Maybe I should dig a small hole in the wall?’

A complete prison break honestly seemed unlikely.

The corridor outside the cell looked quiet and peaceful, but there was no telling what traps the angry Professor Garcia or the threatened Skeleton Principal had set up outside.

Moreover, considering he had been summoned by His Imperial Majesty, it wouldn’t be strange if additional security measures had been added.

‘The Principal is quite petty in his own way, so the possibility is pretty high.’

And aside from all this, Lee Han thought it would be safer to stay in the punishment room until Professor Garcia’s anger completely subsided.

What if he forced a prison break and got caught by Professor Garcia?

From then on, he might really be treated the same as Professor Verdus.

But a small hole connecting to the adjacent room would be a different story.

It was small, convenient, and easy to hide, so the chances of getting caught were low.

If he dug one, he could send private food, and when bored, he could play mage cards or chess, and if magic was blocked, he could also pass magic books…

‘Hmm. Magic books seem like digging my own grave.’

Still, Lee Han made up his mind.

He had plenty of time, so he would dig at least one small hole next to him!

Coincidentally, 【Toberiz Escapes the Fortress】 that Gainando had given him had similar content. It was about Toberiz, who was falsely accused, befriending a wise old man imprisoned in the adjacent room and preparing to escape together.

The first thing Toberiz did at that time was dig a small hole to make contact with the old man in the adjacent room.

‘He’s definitely smart. He’s not a detective for nothing.’

“Professor?”

“I’m listening.”

“What method is used for the magic prohibition here?”

It wouldn’t be easy, but every system had loopholes.

Weren’t the friends in the corridor earlier using magic?

‘If it’s a method that distinguishes between the corridor and inside the cell to absorb mana and interfere, then somehow…’

“This place detects the prisoner’s soul and casts counter-magic.”

“…What?!”

Lee Han was shocked.

‘Did I hear wrong?!’

Whether his disciple was shocked or not, Professor Boladi continued his explanation calmly.

Generally, anti-magic barriers that troubled mages usually focused on absorbing mana or disrupting the movement of mana.

In fact, this alone was sufficient.

Most mages had difficulty casting magic when the mana in nearby areas was sparse or moved unpredictably.

But excellent mages were hard to stop with such methods.

Even if mana was absorbed, they could emit mana faster than the absorption rate, and even if mana movement was disrupted, they could regain control with incredible concentration.

“I understand the latter, but the former doesn’t seem like a very common method. Are there mages who do such reckless things?”

Lee Han asked, puzzled as he listened.

Was there such a crude fool among mages who used the former method?

Professor Boladi said nothing and waited. It was to avoid embarrassing his disciple.

“…Ah.”

Fortunately, Lee Han wasn’t stupid. One second later, he immediately thought of such a crude fool.

‘That would be me.’

“I apologize. Please continue your explanation.”

Since excellent mages were hard to stop with anti-magic barriers this way, the Skeleton Principal approached it differently.

Just as ancient dark mages assembled dozens of spells to create golems that moved as if alive with vitality, this Skeleton Principal also assembled hundreds of spells to create a living, moving prison.

This prison remembered the souls of prisoners and also remembered all the magic those prisoners used.

Then, when it detected the scent of magic cast by prisoners, it immediately cast counter-magic to neutralize it.

‘Why go to such lengths?’

Lee Han had to ask again the question he had thrown countless times since entering Einroguard.

Why go to such lengths?

In fact, Lee Han himself knew the reason better. It would be because of the countless professors who had entered before him.

“Ugh. If all the professors and seniors had stayed quiet, the defenses wouldn’t have been so thoroughly prepared!”

The reality of suffering losses because of mutual distrust was truly painful.

Professor Boladi half-listened to his disciple’s words. Wardanaz tended to say useless things quite often.

“Can’t I cast faster than the counter-magic casting speed?”

“The possibility is low. It’s magic assembled directly by the Principal.”

The necessary mana came from the source of this territory, and its casting was personally crafted by the Skeleton Principal, making it truly impregnable.

If there was a method, it would be to use magic that prisoners had never used before and that the Skeleton Principal didn’t think Lee Han had learned…

Was there such a thing?

‘Ugh.’

Lee Han tried to cast magic outside the bars.

However, the moment telekinesis manifested without an incantation, the prison immediately countered. The pebble in the corridor fell back to its place before it could even rise.

Dark magic was the same. The skeletal hand returned to its original bone fragments before it could even rise.

It was truly designed very well to know how to make mages suffer, as it was a place the Skeleton Principal made to imprison professors.

A voice came from the adjacent room again.

“I told you not to use magic until you fully recover.”

“…Ah. Yes. I’m sorry.”

Lee Han apologized awkwardly.

‘Couldn’t I use at least this much…’

Normally he would have muttered, but the cell was too quiet here, so he could only think to himself.

Lee Han, who had been pondering, spoke again.

“Fine. Then what about a primitive method that doesn’t use magic?”

“What method?”

“Competing with pure mana.”

It was called 【Baldoron’s Mana Hammer】.

Despite its grand name, the principle was very simple. Draw up a lot of mana and strike like a wave.

“If this prison is assembled from hundreds of spells, there will definitely be an impact.”

The more precise a mechanical device, the greater the aftermath when one part was missing.

This prison was likely the same. If he continuously hammered the walls, ceiling, or floor with mana hammers, signs of some kind of malfunction would appear.

“Until you fully recover…”

“This much is fine! It’s no burden at all.”

Lee Han immediately shouted.

The good thing about solitary confinement was that even if you lied, you wouldn’t get caught.

Professor Boladi was silent for a moment. He seemed to be wondering if his disciple was lying.

Lee Han immediately went into action. Originally, in times like this, you had to act first and see.

‘Here I go!’

Mana surged like a wave and spread like a tsunami centered on Lee Han’s palm pressed against the wall.

The inside of the wall vibrated greatly. And the Skeleton Principal’s voice echoed from within the wall.

Wardanaz. Fix your habit of trying to break things crudely. Did you think I wouldn’t have thought of that too?

“…”

“…”

At the recorded mocking voice, master and disciple fell silent simultaneously. Lee Han thought it was fortunate that his friends weren’t there.

“You’ve distributed it carefully.”

Like lightning rods to prevent lightning, countless magic circles were installed near this cell and corridor to disperse strong mana.

It was all too obvious who they were targeting.

Clang, clang, clang-

“?”

Professor Boladi expressed puzzlement at the cheerful striking sounds coming from the adjacent room.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m directly drilling a hole in the wall with a hammer.”

Lee Han said through gritted teeth.

The Skeleton Principal’s mockery always ignited his disciples’ motivation.

Let’s see who wins!

Professor Boladi briefly considered telling him to stop, then shook his head.

As evident from the achievements in this incident, this disciple had earned the right to make his own decisions. Unnecessary interference wouldn’t be needed.

Even though that decision was as ignorant as a magic-ignorant commoner crudely drilling holes in walls with hammer and chisel…

‘Let’s respect it.’

* * *

Even without being able to use magic, Lee Han had several weapons at his disposal.

One of them was his physical abilities as a knight. The prison couldn’t cast anti-magic against the momentary physical enhancement using mana.

Clang, clang, clang!

‘Tsk. Damn thing’s solid.’

But even swinging the hammer with such enhanced strength, the work progressed slower than expected. The amount of chipped fragments wasn’t much either.

Lee Han realized anew how much he had lived depending on magic.

“!”

When footsteps echoed from the other end of the corridor, Lee Han quickly covered the hole with a blanket and arranged miscellaneous items over it.

It would be fortunate if it were his friends, but if it were Professor Garcia…

‘She might be twice as angry.’

However, fortunately, what appeared was a golden-haired child. Jowrin looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

‘Ah. This isn’t fortunate.’

“Waaahhh!”

Jowrin burst into tears as soon as she arrived. Lee Han panicked and roughly threw down the hammer and chisel before shouting.

“Your Majesty. What’s wrong?”

“Jo, Jowrin thought that if Jowrin got trapped in the Dragon Clan’s Court and Lee Han came to rescue, he would come to rescue, but didn’t know Lee Han would get trapped first…”

“…”

You were thinking such things!

Lee Han was greatly surprised by Jowrin’s unexpectedly clever thoughts. This imperial family member was surprisingly capable of objective thinking.

After crying for a while and blowing her nose with a ‘hmph’ into the handkerchief Lee Han offered, Jowrin spoke with reddened eyes.

“What’s the escape plan?”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve thought of an escape plan, right? Lee Han must have thought of one.”

“Uh… well, I was planning to behave quietly this time.”

“!?”

Jowrin stared with eyes as shocked as if the Skeleton Principal had declared ‘I won’t torment students anymore.’

Why on earth?!

“Why?!?”

“Well, the security is thorough, and the professors are angry.”

“Which professors?”

“I can’t reveal that.”

“Professor Garcia?”

“…I said I can’t reveal it.”

“It seems like there’s no one besides Professor Garcia…”

Jowrin, whose intelligence was rising daily, was certainly becoming a formidable opponent.

Lee Han quickly changed the subject.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry too much. If you’re bored, feel free to visit often. You didn’t do anything strange outside because of me, did you?”

“…”

“…Your Majesty?”

When Jowrin stealthily avoided his gaze, Lee Han’s heart sank.

Did she do something strange??

“What did you do?”

“I asked Uman to release Lee Han…”

“That much is fine. It’s okay.”

Seeing Jowrin’s dejected appearance, Lee Han smiled with relief and comforted her.

That level of request was at a cute level.

Of course, seeing her silence, she was probably rejected. It wasn’t particularly strange.

No matter how much Uman wanted to release him, the Emperor was currently angry, telling the Skeleton Principal to come running to the capital…

‘Wait. Wasn’t Prince Uman also dragged along?’

Lee Han felt worried for no reason.

The Skeleton Principal getting scolded was his own business, but it was pitiful for that diligent Black Dragon to suffer hardship.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s fine.”

At Lee Han’s comfort, Jowrin seemed to regain some energy. This Gold Dragon mustered courage and continued speaking.

“Actually, there’s a bit more besides that.”

“Tell me.”

“I got a little angry too…”

“That much is fine. Let’s go apologize together later.”

“I also threw some punches in dragon form…”

“…”

Lee Han’s face turned pale.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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